# WWII, episode 15: My Grandfather's Brief WWII Experience

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-blue-collar-scholar-5584458/wwii-episode-15-my-grandfather-s-brief-wwii-experience
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-blue-collar-scholar-5584458/wwii-episode-15-my-grandfather-s-brief-wwii-experience.md
Podcast: [The Blue Collar Scholar](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-blue-collar-scholar-5584458)
Published: 2026-05-10T17:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://the-blue-collar-scholar.simplecast.com/episodes/wwii-episode-15-my-grandfathers-brief-wwii-experience-cjiC7RmG
Audio file: https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/0629b599-6b9f-45a8-910c-a58b113af6d4/9547d0c6-f239-43ae-b10f-f2b66bd3573b/episodes/audio/group/2a5bb69a-f513-4b7a-8e86-6c713a0cc099/group-item/3ef9c0ac-7632-41ce-b247-0556ee284e0f/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=XAYHUsKl
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-blue-collar-scholar-5584458/episodes/wwii-episode-15-my-grandfather-s-brief-wwii-experience
Duration seconds: 2676

## Resource

My grandfather on my father's side was named Billy Reitz. He was drafted shortly after turning 18 on the first day of winter 1944. He entered the service in the US Army in April 1945, so fighting in Europe was never in the cards for Sgt. Reitz. Instead, he trained for the invasion of Japan. His ship was on the way to the Pacific Theatre when the news of Japan's surrender was announced. So instead of storming the beaches of Japan, Sgt. Reitz spent the next year and a half serving in occupation duty in Korea, being honorably discharged long before hostilities broke out on the peninsula. I honor his service. ... Note: This episode opens with extensive follow-up notes to previous questions and comments from class, mostly dealing with the Manhattan Project & the Nuremburg Trials.

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